1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shelters. More particularly, the invention relates to an earthquake shelter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is no evidence of existence of any place or something in the dwelling house or a hospital that could be used as a reliable, convenient and ever ready shelter for earthquake hazard protection.
Bombshelter and shelter from harricanes do not fit: they are located in vaults of buildings and thereby are usually far from residential areas, or/and they demand considerable construction expenses. Besides, it is very difficult or even impossible to persuade people to seek safety underground while the ground itself seems to crack.
The sudden shock of a strong earthquake does not leave enough time for tenants even in good health to escape the menace of wrecking structures, provided a shelter, especially at night, is in the close vicinity. For sick or handicapped people the transportation to any distant shelter within a few seconds period is especially impractical.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,527, entitled "Protective bed canopy", describes a bed including a canopy having a framework composed of a plurality of longitudinal and transverse trusses, a layer of fabric, all supported upon reinforced posts projecting upward from the corners of the bed frame. This canopy bed, however, is confined to a very specific type of protective cover, and what is the most important, the described system is an entity with the bed frame and therefore it is supposed to replace an existing conventional bed instead of keeping to use it. Besides, the said canopy bed does not prevent people on it from being thrown off under severe horizontal shaking and thus being exposed to falling debris.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,294, entitled "Protective structure", describes a shed on four legs that should be positioned above the protected bed. This structure can be used with any existing bed but it is very unstable and can be easily overturned under a strong horizontal vibration.